With 18 global companies, IIL has employees in every corner of the world. Get to know a new member of the IIL Team each month in our “IIL Spotlight” series. Here, we introduce Nolan Voss, Senior Graphic Designer at IIL Headquarters in New York City.
From strumming the strings of his guitar with his band and working as our Senior Graphic Designer, Nolan Voss is truly a full-time artist.
Before the beard, a young Nolan often spent time with his dad by tagging along to his own band practices. It was from this inspiration and being around the lifestyle of a musician that he realized he wanted to rock.
Picking up his first guitar at the age of 14 during his first year of high school, a hand-me-down Gibson “The Paul” from his dad, he began to get more serious as he was practicing. With his earliest influences consisting of bands including Metallica, AC/DC, Faith No More, and Nirvana, Nolan grew to love playing Metal music and its related subgenres.
As he started expanding on his music knowledge, Nolan originally played as a bass guitarist in first band during his sophomore year of high school. Together, they were playing on public access shows, performing at teen centers, and creating their own music. As time went on, Nolan also began DJing parties and attended open DJ nights on his own.
Nolan is not only musically involved in art, but visually involved as a professional. Staying true to his talents and to pay the bills, he attended college to lead into his current career as a graphic designer.
“I enjoy illustrating, making things look presentable, and my ability to contribute artistically… I was into designing album covers, DVD labels, band flyers, and many different things,” said Nolan. “Corporate or edgy, it’s important to work around different industries. It’s good to know a little bit of everything.”
Starting in 2004, Nolan was in a new band and got used to the life of touring. He and the band were taking on small tours ranging from a weekend to a week long, as well as writing and performing music for independent works. Gaining more experience, the band soon performed on a music video that aired on MTV Latin America.
As 2010 came around, Nolan formed Anicon, his current band, with Owen Rundquist, who he met at a mutual friend’s going-away party. What originally started as a small recording project blew up into something bigger as they put forward together their musical prowess.
Adding two more members, Alexander DeMaria and Lev Weinstein, to complete their 4-man ensemble, Anicon built their success as they began touring in June 2012. Together, they’ve toured several times and work hard, each time with a great payoff.
“What I really enjoy about touring is that I get to see areas I’ve never been to, and meet great new people in different states,” Nolan said. “Seeing different environments is fulfilling, and every time I come back, I feel refreshed!”
Following their efforts, they were soon picked up by music label Gilead Media, who is creating the vinyl format for their upcoming July release and working on the US promotion, while label Avant Garde is handling their European and CD format distribution. The band is set to appear in an article with Decibel magazine in August for their first record review in print.
This year, they plan to go on a mini-tour, performing at the Migration Festival in Olympia, Washington as well as another larger tour in the coming months. Although Nolan dedicates much time to his musical work, it has never had any negative effect at the office and only adds on to his creative character.
“I’m very happy and thankful that I work at a company that allows me to enjoy my hobby and passion,” said Nolan. “It’s been very flexible.”
Today, Nolan stays more musically involved than ever before. He records many local bands with his own freelance on-location recording studio and also enjoys writing music in his home studio. With many passionate years in practicing and performing music, he doesn’t plan on silencing his talents.